PlayStation 4 picks up a dozen indies including Spelunky, Escape Goat 2, Nidhogg and more

All hail Sony's new indie overlords. With exclusives few and far between on the PlayStation 4, it's less than a year after launch after all, Sony's doing the right thing. There are amazing games just waiting for a little bit of support to be brought to the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Sony, in a damn intelligent move, is willing to do a lot of the hard work necessary to make that happen. To the winner reap the rewards, as a dozen indie games have been newly confirmed for the PlayStation 4.

Some of the games are currently available on PC, some of the games are still months away from release, some will also be coming to PS Vita, but all of them are now confirmed for the PlayStation 4. Keep in mind that Sony isn't Steam and that each of these games have been vetted for quality. Of course, everyone's tastes differ, so hopefully there's something for everyone.

Here are the dozen indies that will be coming to the PlayStation 4 some time into the future, along with a brief description and certain other details:

Apotheon (PS4, Youtube trailer) - "Looking back, making our upcoming action sidescrollerApotheon in the visage of ancient Greek pottery seemed like an obvious choice. Everything is already there. The 2D perspective, the awesome narrative and setting possibilities, heroes fighting monsters and magical goat-men with no pants… All we really had to do was figure out how to make the art on those pots move around and make it into an interesting game."

Axiom Verge (PS4 and PS Vita, Youtube trailer) - "Axiom Verge is a retro-styled 2D“metroidvania” action-adventure, inspired by such classics as Rygar, Contra, Bionic Commando, Blaster Master, and, of course, Metroid. But it also gives you power over glitches like those found in classic games, allowing you to scramble enemies, corrupt environments, and enter hidden areas."

Chasm (PS4, Youtube trailer) - "[A] procedurally-generated RPG Platformer coming to PS4 later this year. In Chasm, players take up the role of Daltyn, a young soldier sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a mining crew in the remote mountain town of Karthas. Upon arrival you learn the town has been cut off from the outside world by supernatural forces. Now trapped, you are left with no option but to explore the mines below the town and uncover the source of the disturbances. Only by gaining new special abilities, evading dangerous traps, and defeating hordes of deadly enemies can you hope to save Karthas — and possibly the world!"

Drifter (PS4 and PS Vita, Youtube trailer) - "Drifter is an open-world, sandbox, space trading game with a procedurally-generated galaxy 100,000 light years across, made up of tens of thousands of star systems to explore and features an original soundtrack by composer Danny Baranowsky. In the game you take on the role of a spaceship captain attempting to eke out a living among the stars by trading goods between star systems, hunting pirates for bounties, mining asteroids for valuable ore, or even becoming a pirate yourself."

Escape Goat 2 (PS4, Youtube trailer) - "The theme of Escape Goat 2 is transformation. As you manipulate hidden machinery, walls move around and blocks settle into new places. Things look different when you’re done with the room (especially if you employ your mighty horns to their best use)."

Ironclad Tactics (PS4, Youtube trailer) - "Ironclad Tactics is a fast-paced, card-based tactics game set in the American Civil War… with robots! Although it’s reminiscent of the tactics games and collectible card games that we’re all familiar with, we’ve done a few things that make the game stand out."

Jamestown Plus (PS4, Youtube trailer- "Jamestown Plus will contain the entire original experience, but we’re also hard at work on a lot of cool new content to celebrate the console release:

New ships, replete with innovative special attacks and customizable weapon systems!

New levels, taking players on a swashbuckling adventure to the mysterious Martian moons of Phobos and Deimos!

A new chapter of the Jamestown story that spans space and time, adds new dimension to established characters and locations, and finishes what the original game started."

Nidhogg (PS4) - "We have the most fun playing Nidhogg in front of our TV with friends. Sharing a TV and controllers is way more comfortable than crowding around someone’s desk and sharing a keyboard. Exclusive to the PS4 version, the built-in tournament mode now indicates your fencer’s color on DualShock4′s light bar… how cool is that?!

When you’re not hosting an awesome Nidhogg tournament at home, you can get some practice in by playing through the single-player training mode, which has a variety of AI personalities you can practice against. Of course, sometimes you want to play against a real human, so playing with your friends via PSN is going to be super sweet."

Skulls of the Shogun (PS4, Youtube trailer) - "Skulls of the Shogun is a mash-up of turn-based strategy and fighting-game flare, scientifically engineered for lightning-quick rounds, thoughtful strategic play, and a frequently inappropriate sense of humor with its tongue planted firmly in cheek. And whether you’re into single or multiplayer, Skulls has you covered. You play General Akamoto, Japan’s greatest shogun, who’s been stabbed in the back on the eve of his greatest battle – and transported to the Samurai Afterlife. But an impostor has taken your place, and it’s up to you to shatter his plans and regain your honor as Shogun – of the Dead!"

Source (PS4) - "A great Metroidvania is an experience where you go off on an amazing adventure. You may not know where you’re going, or who your friends are, but you have a purpose and a way of defending yourself. This is what we’re setting out to do with Source, except with a new kind of character set in an alternate dimension, inspired by life as we know it."

Spelunky (PS4) - "We’re once again teaming up with BlitWorks, who did a great job on bringing the game to PS3 and PS Vita. For PS4, we want to do even more — like bump up the graphics to 1080p, let players upload replays to the leaderboards, add more social features to the Daily Challenge, and otherwise take advantage of the PS4′s unique hardware." Owners of Spelunky on PS3 and PS Vita will also be given the PS4 version on launch day.

Starwhal: Just the Tip (PS4, Youtube trailer) - "For Breakfall’s latest game, Starwhal: Just the Tip, we tapped into our love of a number of game design paradigms (because now that we’re mostly grown up nerds, we like fancy words sometimes). Ideas like elegance in mechanics, simplicity in design, hard-hitting, impactful feel, and — naturally — burrito-wrapped narwhals in space, all feature prominently. But the drive to continue to develop Starwhal, and the number one principle we come back to over and over, is that this game brings people together to have fun."

Oddly enough, none of the above announced games for PlayStation 4 have a hard release date just yet. I suppose we can assume that while some of these titles are ready to go today, Sony would like to do a little marketing magic before launching them. Well, that and spreading them out a bit so they don't all come out at the same time. Who knows, maybe one or two will be offered as PlayStation Plus titles.

Every single one of these games has a ton of promise. Heck, I've played half of them and loved them. Spelunky, Nidhogg, Skulls of the Shogun, Jamestown and Escape Goat 2 are on PC right now and well worth an investment. Having them on PlayStation 4 as well is a boon. Everyone watch for more on these titles in the future, as you won't regret it.